Frondoso Character Analysis

Be constant and they call you boring,
Polite and you’re a flatterer;
Be kind and you’re a hypocrite,
A Christian’s someone seeking favour.
If you’ve got talent, that’s just lucky,
You tell the truth, that’s impudence;
Put up with things and you’re a coward,
When things go wrong, it’s your come-uppance.
A modest woman is a fool,
Pretty but chaste, she’s into seduction;
If she’s virtuous, she’s…no, no,
That’s it, end of demonstration!

COMMANDER: Am I, a man of worth, to turn
My back upon a peasant? I shall not break
The rules of chivalry!

FRONDOSO. I don’t
Intend to kill you. I know my place.
But since I need to stay alive,
I’ll keep the crossbow.

FRONDOSO: Laurencia, I want
To know if you care for me at all;
If the loyalty I’ve shown has made
Me in the least deserving. The town
Already sees the two of us as one
And cannot understand why we
Are not. Why not forget all past
Disdain? I’m asking you to marry me?

LAURENCIA: Then you and all the village too
Had better know…that I agree.

FRONDOSO: I kiss your feet for such a favour.
I promise you it gives my life
New meaning.

You must
Have seen a fellow making fritters.
He throws great lumps of dough into
A pan of boiling oil until it’s full.
Some come out swollen, some deformed,
Some totally misshapen, some
Are fine, others not, some burnt to death,
Some soggy. And that’s your poetry too.
The subject matter is the poet’s dough.
He throws it in the pan, which is
His paper, and after it spoonfuls
Of honey to cover up the taste
And make it sweeter.

The village-girl came down the path
From Fuente Ovejuna,
She was soon followed, by the knight
Who came from Calatrava.
She hid, amongst the branches there,
She felt such shame and fear;
Pretending she had not seen him,
She drew the leaves around her.
“Why try to hide yourself away?
You really are quite pretty.
My eyes can see through walls of stone
When someone takes my fancy.”

There are new rulers in
Castile who’ll introduce such laws
And orders as will put an end
To all disorder. When they have ceased
To be engaged in war, they would
Do well to rid their villages
And towns of men whose power comes
From wearing crosses. The King alone
Should be allowed to wear the cross.

What honourable rites indeed,
If there is not a single one
Of us whose life that criminal
Has not dishonoured? Tell me now if there
Is someone here whose honour is
Unscathed. You are as one, I think,
In your complaints. And so I say
To you: if you have common cause,
What are you waiting for?

Long life to lovely Isabel
And our King Fernando,
They suit each other very well,
Their love is strong, their love is true;
One day Saint Michael at the gates,
Will welcome them and let then in;
Till then long life to both of them,
And punish tyrants for their sins!

MENGO: No more, no more! I’ll tell you.

JUDGE: Who killed the Commander?

MENGO: Fuente Ovejuna! Our little town!

JUDGE: Who ever saw such scoundrels! They mock
Their pain. The very one I thought
Would crack is most defiant. Release them!
This has become most tiresome.

ESTEBAN: Your Majesty, we wish
To be your loyal vassals. You are
Our rightful King, and so we have displayed
Your coat of arms in our town,
We pray you will be merciful,
Accepting our innocence as our defence.

KING: There is no written evidence
As proof of your guilt, and so,
Although this was a serious crime,
You must be pardoned.

Be constant and they call you boring,
Polite and you’re a flatterer;
Be kind and you’re a hypocrite,
A Christian’s someone seeking favour.
If you’ve got talent, that’s just lucky,
You tell the truth, that’s impudence;
Put up with things and you’re a coward,
When things go wrong, it’s your come-uppance.
A modest woman is a fool,
Pretty but chaste, she’s into seduction;
If she’s virtuous, she’s…no, no,
That’s it, end of demonstration!

COMMANDER: Am I, a man of worth, to turn
My back upon a peasant? I shall not break
The rules of chivalry!

FRONDOSO. I don’t
Intend to kill you. I know my place.
But since I need to stay alive,
I’ll keep the crossbow.

FRONDOSO: Laurencia, I want
To know if you care for me at all;
If the loyalty I’ve shown has made
Me in the least deserving. The town
Already sees the two of us as one
And cannot understand why we
Are not. Why not forget all past
Disdain? I’m asking you to marry me?

LAURENCIA: Then you and all the village too
Had better know…that I agree.

FRONDOSO: I kiss your feet for such a favour.
I promise you it gives my life
New meaning.

You must
Have seen a fellow making fritters.
He throws great lumps of dough into
A pan of boiling oil until it’s full.
Some come out swollen, some deformed,
Some totally misshapen, some
Are fine, others not, some burnt to death,
Some soggy. And that’s your poetry too.
The subject matter is the poet’s dough.
He throws it in the pan, which is
His paper, and after it spoonfuls
Of honey to cover up the taste
And make it sweeter.

The village-girl came down the path
From Fuente Ovejuna,
She was soon followed, by the knight
Who came from Calatrava.
She hid, amongst the branches there,
She felt such shame and fear;
Pretending she had not seen him,
She drew the leaves around her.
“Why try to hide yourself away?
You really are quite pretty.
My eyes can see through walls of stone
When someone takes my fancy.”

There are new rulers in
Castile who’ll introduce such laws
And orders as will put an end
To all disorder. When they have ceased
To be engaged in war, they would
Do well to rid their villages
And towns of men whose power comes
From wearing crosses. The King alone
Should be allowed to wear the cross.

What honourable rites indeed,
If there is not a single one
Of us whose life that criminal
Has not dishonoured? Tell me now if there
Is someone here whose honour is
Unscathed. You are as one, I think,
In your complaints. And so I say
To you: if you have common cause,
What are you waiting for?

Long life to lovely Isabel
And our King Fernando,
They suit each other very well,
Their love is strong, their love is true;
One day Saint Michael at the gates,
Will welcome them and let then in;
Till then long life to both of them,
And punish tyrants for their sins!

MENGO: No more, no more! I’ll tell you.

JUDGE: Who killed the Commander?

MENGO: Fuente Ovejuna! Our little town!

JUDGE: Who ever saw such scoundrels! They mock
Their pain. The very one I thought
Would crack is most defiant. Release them!
This has become most tiresome.

ESTEBAN: Your Majesty, we wish
To be your loyal vassals. You are
Our rightful King, and so we have displayed
Your coat of arms in our town,
We pray you will be merciful,
Accepting our innocence as our defence.

KING: There is no written evidence
As proof of your guilt, and so,
Although this was a serious crime,
You must be pardoned.